Ricercar's Johann Pachelbel: Christ lag in Todesbanden, featuring the
Chamber Choir of Namur, period band
Les Agrémens, and organist David van Bouwel under the direction of
Jean Tubéry, attempts to draw the thread twixt the late sacred vocal music of
Pachelbel with the early efforts in the genre by
Johann Sebastian Bach.
Pachelbel's reputation is so dominated by his famous Canon in D -- a piece that for the composer was likely little more than an exercise -- that his first-rate sacred music often suffers in terms of recognition. The discovery in 2006 of a manuscript copy in
Bach's hand of some music by
Pachelbel points up this early connection between
Bach and
Pachelbel, and annotator
Jérôme Lejeune reminds us that it came through
Bach's own family:
Pachelbel was godfather to
Bach's oldest sister and his brother
Johann Christoph Bach's music teacher. So the historical connection is there, but what about a stylistic connection? Is there one to be found?
Without
Bach's side of the story present to speak for him, it is rather hard to deduce it just from the
Pachelbel music heard here. This is the major shortcoming of the package; the programmatic concept is purported to contrast
Pachelbel's music with
Bach's, and yet, none of
Bach's music is included. There is certainly no shortage of recordings of
Bach's settings of these same cantatas and organ chorales from
Pachelbel, and it is assumed the listener will either consult one of these other recordings or simply take the annotator's word for it. However, on the bright side it is quite satisfying to hear
Pachelbel's sacred cantatas in such pristine and transparent performances as these. The singing is enthusiastic and spirited, and the recording is very well mixed, modulating the relation of the balance of instruments and voices in order to best illustrate what's in the score, rather than relying on the natural balance of the room to carry the day for the whole album. As this was recorded in 2006, perhaps ostensibly in observance of the 300th anniversary of
Pachelbel's death only to discover that no one seemed to care, it is likely the connection to
Bach was strengthened in order to provide this package with an additional angle to exploit. Ricercar's Johann Pachelbel: Christ lag in Todesbanden doesn't need it; these are very fine performances, and
Pachelbel's music is strong enough on its own to warrant recommendation to those who appreciate Baroque sacred cantatas.